BEATRICE – Firefighters monitored for hotspots overnight Saturday into Sunday, from major wildfires that raced across cropland and pasture in Gage County, on Saturday.


A fire that began near Holmesville west of South 51st road crossed U.S. Highway 136 and destroyed a farm structure at a rural residence along the north side of the highway, about five miles east of Beatrice. At one point, a power pole burned up and a power line had fallen over part of the Holmesville Road.


Wymore Fire Chief Mark Meints says the structure along U.S. 136 was the only one believed lost on a day that would see upwards of 200 firefighters from multiple departments in two states battle four fires……one near Odell…..one near Holmesville...a major fire north of Pickrell...and a fire in a combine.


"All the firefighters working together, I think that's the biggest thing. It took a team effort to do all these fires. Our mutual aid is wonderful. I can't say enough how everybody works so well together and we're just fortunate we didn't lose a lot of property and we didn't have any firefighters that were seriously injured. I also want to give a thank you to the people who brought us stuff. People coming up bringing cases of water, several restaurants bringing us food."


In the southern and east areas of the county, firefighters and resources came from Wymore, Blue Springs, Barneston, Odell, Diller, Plymouth, Beatrice Rural and Filley. In the north part of the county, resources from departments in Pickrell, Cortland, Clatonia, Beatrice Rural, Adams and Firth Rural fought the fires. On the first fire near Odell, departments in Kansas from Hanover and Marysville, Kansas also helped out.


Although unseasonably warm and dry, Meints says the wind was to blame for increasing the size of the blazes. Meints said only the one structure near U.S. 136 was lost.

Home along South 51st, still standing after fire raced by
Home along South 51st, still standing after fire raced by  

 
"There were several farmers....they took their discs and disced around properties. It was just amazing all of the houses that we protected...the departments protected. It was sad that one gentleman did lose....there was quite a bit in that building...some vehicles, motorcycles, tools and things. The other thing that was very fortunate is that there were a few firefighters injured, but nothing serious."


Meints said one firefighter was injured in a fall, one suffered smoke inhalation and another firefighter was injured from a broken window on a fire truck.


Beatrice Rural firefighters were up throughout the night monitoring for hot spots on the fire within their district. Other calls were received reporting spot fires flaring up. Several trees and hay bales burned.
The fires torched several acres of stubble, but also corn and soybeans that had not yet been harvested.


"Some of the beans were lost because we had to disc around them just to keep the fire from spreading. We had a lot of problems with fire jumping the road, because of the wind. And then, exactly at five o'clock the wind changed directions. The National Weather Service did contact dispatch to warn us that this was going to happen. We were trying to prepare for that, but it happened so quick. Right at five o'clock, the wind changed....and that's when our fire over on 136 and on Belvedere (Road)...it all took off again. That put us out there for a few more hours."


Tinder dry conditions, high temperatures in the 90s and strong winds gusting to 40-miles-per-hour fanned flames over a wide area east of Beatrice and northeast of Pickrell, on Saturday.


Early Sunday morning, smoke from the fires hugged the ground and small spot fires could still be seen burning in hay bales and along roadways. Winds subsided overnight….and were expected to be from the north on Sunday, at 10-to-15 miles-per-hour.